Thank You For The Tips

I don't quite know when it happened, but somewhere along the way I become a generous tipper. I've always that a job well done is it's own reward. Like a monkey with a drug problem, I've been self-administering perfectionism for the last 30 years of my life.

Despite this handicap, I still hand out tips generously, at hotels, restaurants, and in cabs. Strangely, however, one place I have resisted handing out tips is at self-service or quick-service restaurants - like Starbucks. But there is one chain where I always tip - PAX.

Several years ago, for reasons I do not recall, in a moment of weakness, I tipped the person at the counter at a PAX shop. "Thank you for the tips" she said. I was stunned. I had never been thanked for a tip before, the idea was novel and exciting. And, again, like a monkey with drug problem, I was hooked. Now, while Starbucks baristas may go without, no counter service person at PAX ever gets shorted.